Rootstown runs away from Windham in opener

The Rootstown Rovers hosted the Windham Bombers for their opener and their game plans could not have been more different.

Rootstown won the tip, passed once, then shot a 3-pointer in the first seven seconds of the game.

To start the second half, Windham had a 57-second possession where it ran three different half-court set plays.

In the end, the Rovers’ fast style triumphed with Rootstown winning, 36-18.

"Rovers basketball is about running and shooting," Rootstown coach Chip Bittecuffer said. "We really started to make our shots in the third quarter and that let us really pull away."

Per Windham coach Chad Fender, "We are a really young team, and being a first-year head coach, I have to be able to base our game around our players. We brought back a couple girls with some good experience, but other than that, we are very young. We really think that this is a style where we can win.

"As long as we can keep these other teams from getting second and third shot opportunities, we can win," Fender added. "That’s really what started killing us in the second half. They started getting and making second and third shots. Then, when they were ending possessions with makes, they could press more and more on the inbounds passes."

The Rovers outscored the Bombers during the third quarter, 14-3, matching their scoring output from the entire first half. They took what was a four-point lead and extended it to a 15-point lead.

Despite being hampered by foul trouble for most of the game, Torrie Harris led the Rovers with nine points. Colette Franks, Erica Moore and Madison Moneypenny all had six. Kasidy Smith scored five.

Cheyenne Wallace led the Bombers with six. Ashlyn Riggs, Karlee Fall and Mia Berardinelli each had three.

The Rovers’ fast pace caused mistakes by everyone early, including themselves. On one hand, Rootstown held Windham scoreless for the first 5:10 of the game. However, in that span, the Rovers committed four turnovers. They only had scored five points themselves up to that point.

"It was the first quarter of the first game," Bittecuffer said. "What can you do? We really got comfortable as the game went on. The shots started to fall and we cut down on turnovers."